2023-10-09 09:10:06
Oscar Piastri took 2nd place on the podium at the 2023 F1 Round 18 Qatar GP. Piastri, fresh off his first F1 win in a sprint, started Sunday from sixth place. However, he took advantage of the Mercedes driver’s rivalry and the resulting traffic to move into second place after Turn 1 on the opening lap.
After adhering to the race’s mandatory three stops, Piastri crossed the line in second place. It was the best result of rookie Piastri’s F1 career, and he was less than five seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen. “I’m very, very happy. Turn one was great, of course. That was definitely in the game plan before the race,” Piastri joked. “Really great pace… it was the best we could do. Second and third place is a great result for the team and overall it was a great weekend. It was good of course that all the tires were stable. But I’m also happy to have won another trophy.”At the end of the 10th race, the Austrian Grand Prix, Piastri had only scored five points and was 14th in the drivers’ standings. However, after undergoing a major upgrade package to his car at Silverstone, he has scored 78 points and is currently ninth in the standings. Asked what made this good run possible, Piastri said: “I think it’s mainly the car. We knew from very early on this year that Suzuka and here were in some ways advantageous for us. That’s actually what happened.” “On Friday, I think both Lando and I were pretty frustrated in qualifying. But yesterday was obviously a very good day for me, and today was also a good day.” “The car It’s encouraging to be able to show such pace. To finish within five seconds of Max is unbelievable since the start of the season and I’m very happy.” Oscar Piastri (McLaren) “Very, very good. Happy. Turn 1 was great. It was in my pre-race game plan. Really great pace. Hardest race of my life. It was hot and I was basically flat out the whole time. It was a 57-lap qualifying session, but I definitely think we did it. It was a really good race. I’m grateful to the team for giving Lando and me a car that could consistently compete at the top. Great strategy for today’s race. There were decisions and pit stops and despite the difficult conditions we were able to put everything together on the day. It was a great day.”
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